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SPEECH 



HON. JEREMIAH QLEMENS, OF ALA., 



NON-IJNTERVENTION, 



' ^ 



DELItEBED 



IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, FEBRUARY 12, 1852. 



WASHINGTON: 

PftlNtED AT THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE OFFICE. 

1852. 






4. 




73808 







NON-INTERVENTION. 



m 



t 



The Senate proceeded to consider the folIowin<^ 
reso utions, which were submitted by Mr Clarkp 
on the ,19th ultimo: ^ 

Resolvedly the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States oj .Imericu in Co,K»re« ruS",/TI,a{ 

'1 hat Governments are instituted anion? men to secure 

pmess, denvHig their just powers from the consent of lie 

destrSvV^?Hr'''''''T' '"'^ ''^""^ of government become: 
destructue ot.tliese ends, it is the right of the neonle to al 
er or to abolish it, and to' insUtute a^new GoveTnmem lat 
mg us foundatioi, upon such principles and o,"Zziu.L 
powers ,n such Conn as to them shall seem n Ss tikelv to 
effect their safetv and happiness.^' ^ 

Resolved, That while we claim for ourselves these com- 
prehensive rights of self-government, and also, as a co^- 
pequenceot sovereignty, the right to be exemn from the 
coercnm, control, or interference of others in the ma a^e^ 

measure ^l>!",t"]i" '"^*'''' ''" '^^'""'^'"^ '" "''"''■^ '"«= «ame 
R«^L "^" '."'."■'"""' ""luahfied independence. 
Resolved, That it is upon the sacred principle of inde- 
pendcu sovereignty that we recognize, n our intercourse 
with other nations, Governments de futo, without inn ir 
ng by what means they have been 4tabl she" oi ir^ what 
manner they exercise their powers. ' 

Resolved, That this Government has solemnly adonted 
tionaTacti^fn'^Z"'!^'^ "'""^ f"' ^^ ^ P"--iP'« of i-'-e'^na-' 
wen Adr e s^ < n,'''"''''^'^"]^^.^^''''''" in '"^ Fare- 

well Address Observe good faith and justice towards all 
nations; cultivate peace and harmony will, all." "Give 
to mankind the magnanimous and too novel an example of 

fafX < T^' ^t^'^ ''>' '"' •^•^"''^^'^ i^^^'i^e and benevo- 
lence." " Sympathy for a favorite nation betrays itself into 
a participation in the quarrels and wars of another w ho n 
adequate mdueementor justification." '^ Against thei s^ 
lous wiles of foreign influence the jealousy of a free people 
ought to be constantly awake ; for foreign infiuence'^s the 
most baneful toe of republican Governments." " The tr I 
rule ot conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in e" 
ending our commercial relations, to have with them as lit- 
tle political connection as possible. " " Why quit our own 
to stand upon foreign ground : Why, by iit'er vea ~ur 
destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle ou peace 

fn tere'^'Cj: '" '"' ""'^ "'' European'ambitiSn, rivalJl'ip" 
interest, humor, or caprice." ^' 

...ff'^''"M' '^y^'^' '^'"'e ^« cherish tlie liveliest symnathv 
towards al4 who strive for freedom of opinion and for free 
institutions yet wo recognize our true policv in the great 
fundamental principles given to us bv Jeflerson : " eS 
and exact justice to all men, of whatever slate or persia- 
Fion, rehgious or political ; peace, eommerce, and honest 
friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with 

-Rfso/i-e,/, That although we adhere to these essential 
principles of non-intervention as forming the true and la t- 
in-! foundation ot our prosperity and happiness, yet wl ei - 
ever a provident foresight shall warn us Ihat ou own 1 be - 
own''s"nr '"^"t',',"°"^ "^--e threatened, then a just regard tooVir 
own safety vyill require us to advance to the conflict rather 
than await the approach of the foes of our const.tu , na 
freedom and ol human Uberty. 

Mr. Seward's amendment proposes to strike 



out all after the second resolution of Mr. Clarke. 
and insert: ' 

Resolved, That while the United States, in consideration 
mentsrf^'f T"' "'^"^I^J'' habitually recognize Goveni 
men s de facto in other States, yet that they are neverthe- 
less by no means indifferent when such a Government is 
established against the consent of any people by u?u pat „„ 
or by armed intervention of foreign States or nations 

Resolved, That, considering that the nr(u,I,. of IIn„"-nrTr 
in the exercise of the right secured to thein by il,e ^If 
n. nnnl '" ^ '"'''';'" ""'^ '"^i^imate manner ass.rtnl their 
national independence, and Established a Govern. iimt bv 
their own voluntary act, and successfully mainta,i„,| U 
agaiiistall opposition by parties lawfully iiiterested in the 
law ^'rriSf,'"^- 'hat the Emperor of Russia, withou jii-t or 
lawful right, invadftd Hungary, and, by fraud and armed 
force subverted the national independence and po cal 
constitution thus established, and thereby reduced tha 
country o the condition of a province ruled by a fbrei f, 
and absolute power : the United States, in defence of' the^ 
X, n ™' ?" ""^ 'he common interests of mankind do 
solemnly protest against ihr conduct of Russia on that occa- 
sion, as a wanton and ty..!„i,ical infraction of th,. laws of 
na ons; and the United .-Uates do furtherdpclar,. tha? they 
will not herealtcr be indifferent to similar acts of national 
Ihiy maTSrf ""' ""' "^"--P^'-"' whenever or whereve. 

Mr. Cass's amendment is desi-ned as a sub- 
stitute for Mr. CLARKii's series,. Jt is as follows- 
P;''°^';^\h tjie Senate and House of Representative, 

Th.at while the people of the United States sympathize 
with all nations who are striving to establish free GWern! 
ments, yet they recognize the great principle of the law of 
nations which assures to each of them the right to manage 
us own internal affairs in its own way, and to establish 
alter or abolish Us Government at pleasure, without the 
I interference of any other Power; and they have not seen 

r.n?.", '">■ ""V'' f *"' "'tho'" -leep concern, the viola- 
tion ot this principle of national independence. 

Mr. CLE.MENSsaid: Mr. President, when this 
question was last under consideration, I listened 
with deep attention to the remarks of the honora- 
ble Senator from Michi£:an, [Mr. Ctss.l In that, 
speech— perhaps the ablest of his life— there is 
inuch to which I cannot suljscribe; but there is 
also much K. which I yield a cordial assent. I 
had supposed that we differed more widely than 
we do; and that supposition was a source to me 
of profound regret, not merely because he is the 
acknowled,ged leader of the political party to which 
1 belong, but more on account of the kind and 
cordial relations existing- between us. It was 
therefore with sincere pleasure I heard liim an- 
nounce that he proposed no intervention in the 
attairs of other nations beyond an expression of 
opinion that the conduct of Pai.ssia had not been 
in accordance with the law of nations, and that we 



could not look upon a similar violation of that 
law with unconcern. 

I sliall not go out of my way to discuss with 
the Senator from IVIicliigan the propriety of tlie 
expression of such an opinion. I shall addre.sa i 
myself rather to tliose who go far beyond that , 
honorable Senator, and demand " material aid" 
for Hungary. I am afraid that tliere is a dispo- 
sition in some quarters to undervalue the import- 
ance of this question. Indeed I have heard it, on 
one or two occasions, cliaracterizcd as an abstrac- 
tion. I w'sh it was. In my opinion, it is net only j 
a question of immediate and pressing iniportance, 
but it is a question, upon the correct decision of | 
■which, must depend the liberty and happiness of | 
generations who are ta come after us. 

A foreigner has landed upon our shores, preach- j 
ing a crusade against the nations of the Old i 
World, and boldly asking us to incorporate a 
new principle in the foreign policy of the nation. 
Of that foreigner it is necessary that I should 
say something. That he is an orator of consid- j 
erable ability, is conceded; but he is an orator j 
merely. To call him a hero, is, in my opinion, I 
a very near approach to the ridiculous. The 
man who was the first to shrink at the approach i 
of the tempest he had raised, who abandoned his 
country when he had still an army of one hun- 
dred and^iirty-five thousand men at his com- 
mand; who surrendered the powers vested in him 
for the good of the State into the hands of a man, 
whom for months, he had believed to be a trai- 
tor, is not made of such stm as Washington, or 
Sumter, or Marion, or Grlgnp. The excessive 
laudations which have been heni'd upon him since 
his arrival 'among us, must, in liic eyes of foreign 
nations, who know his history far better than we 
seem to know it, cover us witli ridicule, if not with 
contempt. Not long sime, I saw a letter, written 
by an individual inhigh phice, in which the wri- 
ter seemed Im be nt a lo.-^s tor words to exjuess the 
amount of his rev^g^e for the " illustrious Mag- 
yar." An American,, citizen, a freeman, talking 
about his rcr^-renre for any living thing belov/ the 
God that m;ule him ! Sir, I neither feel reverence, 
nor anything approaching it, for one who has | 

K roved himself to be as weak and vacillating in the 
ourof danger, as he was reckless and uncalculating 
before its approach. But I have no wish to deal in 
unkind expressions towards him. As an individual 
I entertain for him no feeling but that of indid'er- 
etice. It is almost impossible that he should ever 
become either a frif-nd or an enemy of mine. Nor 
would I speak of him at all, but for th.e doctrines 
he advances; and for the further fact, that he has 
been invested by his advocates with almost num- 
berless virtues, for the purpose of enlisting sym- 
pathy in his behalf, and preparing the public mind 
to yield a readier assent to his teachings. None 
know better than the demagogues who have sur- 
rounded him since his arrival here, that the voice^ 
of wisdom may be drowned iiy the wiki shouts of 
a frenzied mob, clamoring for the establishment of 
freedom throughout the world. And hence it is 
that we have him presented to us as a pure repub- 
lican, whose exile is a consequence of his minis- 
trations at the altar of Liberty, and whose whole 
life has been one long labor in the cause of human 
rights. 

Now, sir, I do not believe this; but I nhould 
not trouble myself to contradict it, if it were not 



for the intention which dictates the eulogy. That 
he has labored, and is laboring zealously, to ob- 
tain aid for Hungary, is not to be denied; and I 
neither know nor care what amount of stimulus 
may have been added to his exertions by disap- 
pointed ambition and deep-rooted enmity to the 
Power that vanquished him. He would not be 
human, if some such feeling did not find a place 
in his bosom. I blame him not, if it is there; 
and do not care to inquire how far it may have 
governed his conduct. But, sir, the apostle of 
freedom should illustrate, by his own example, 
its beauty and smiplicity. On a former occasion,! 
expressed doubts v/hether he really understood the 
simple creed, which has been the source of all our 
happiness and all our greatness. Since that time 
he has been among us, and those doubts have 
ripened into convictions. And here again let me 
say, I do not blame him. He had been accus- 
tomed to the pageantry of courts, to the " pomp, 
pride, and circumstance " which surround the 
monarchs of the Old World, and he naturally sup- 
I posed that these were necessary adjuncts to a 
favorable impression upon the people. To^Jthis 
I cause I attribute the unnecessary display of uni- 
forms and sabres, which gave to a quiet hotel 
i in this city much the appearance of the head-quar- 
I ters of a commanding general in a conquered 
! country. To this cause," also, I attribute the bad 
I taste which brought an armed guard into this Hall 
on the day of his reception here; v/hen, for the 
I first tiine since their erection, these walls echoed 
the jingle of arms. Let us hope that it is no omen 
I of scenes which are to follow. But when I 
remembered the peaceful purposes for which this 
i building grew under the hands of the architect; 
' when Tremembered that, to this body, above all 
I others, the people are accustomed to look, to 
I check rashness, to rebuke violence, and to frown 

I down all schemes of extravagance and excitement, 

I I confess 1 felt something like a shudder at the 
unwonted rattling of foreign sabres in the inmost 

i temple of American Liberty. 

j There is another circumstance I must not omil 
to mention. If Kossuth had been the ardent're- 

I I puldican which he is represented, there is one spot 
1 in this vicinity no difficulty would havo deterred 

!; him from visiting. Neither storm nor tempest — 
il the summer's heat nor winter's snow should have 
i' prevented him t'rom making a pilgrimage to Mount 

I I Vernon, and kneeling at the tomb of the wisest, 
!| the noblest, and the purest of all those who have 
|1 done battle in the cause of mankind. But that great 

I name seems to have awakened in him no'enthu- 
r siasin, and the spot where the remains of Wash- 
{ ington are interre^', has been undisturbed by the 
tread of Hungarian feet. I doubt if there is a 
:: mimarch in Eunipe who v>'ou!d have been guilty 
i[ of similar neglect; who would have manifested so 
ji little reverence for the dead — so little regard for 
I ' the holiest feelings of the living. 
!l Mr. President, I have now done with the indi- 
vidual. It is to his mission that I shall addresa 
myself His first proposition is, that every na- 
tion has the right to regulate its own affairs in 
its own way; and to this I shall interpose no ob- 
jection. But Mr. Kossuth and I may differ very 
widely as to what constitutes a nation, and con- 
sequently as to who it is in whom this right re- 
sides. 1 do not admit that every part of an em- 
pire, whether it be called a province, state, or 



department, is a nation. Hungary is and has 
long been a part of the Austrian Empire, and is 
no more independent of the Chief Executive than 
is New York of the General Government. If the 
State of New York should undertake to regulate 
her own aifairs in her own way — to appropriate 
die immense revenues collected in her ports — to 
form alliances with foreign nations, and to tax the 
citizen of Pennsylvania or Massachusetts, whose 
business required him to pass through her terri- 
tory, it requires no great stretch of imagination to I 
suppose that an army would soon be collected on | 
her borders, and that her right would be made to ] 
depend upon her power to enforce it. I think I 
but utter an admitted truth, when I say that the 
right to regulate the affairs of the United States, 
to watch over the interests of the whole Union, to 
g^uard and to defend them, is here, and must re- 
main here, until the people take it away either by 
successful revolution or by constitutional amend- 
ments. So, I take it, the right to regulate the 
aJTairs of the Austrian Empire resides in its Ex- 
ecutive head, until the people see fit to withdraw 
tlie powers they have vested in him. If a minority 
are dissatisfied and wish to change their form of 
government, there is no recourse but revolution; 
and not until that revolution is successfully ac- 
complished can they claim a place among the na- 
tions of the earth. If it were possible to collect 
all the Germans in the United States into one 
State, the Irish in another, the French in another, 
although each might speak its own language and 
be governed by its own local laws, they would no 
more be entitled to the appellation of nations than 
now, when they are diiTused throughout the whole 
Republic. Mere difference of language, and of 
local laws, is no evidence of nationality. Some- 
thing more is needed; and it would be easy to 
ehow that, in enunciating his first proposition, 
Kossuth has made a case against himself. 

But, sir, T do not wish to pursue the inquirer. 
It is immaterial whether or not any such right is 
to be found in the law of nations. Indeed it is 
somewhat diificult for any one at all conversant 
with the history of the world to suppress a smile 
while listening to learned dissertations in favor of 
rights founded on the law of nations. That na- 
tion does not exist \vhich has not disregarded all 
Such laws whenever promjjted by interest to do 
eo. To take care of its own interest, to provide 
for its ov/n security, is and always has been the 
ruling principle of every nation, irrespective of 
any public law. So universal has been this prac- 
tice, that I recollect InU one instance in all history 
to the contrary, and that was when Tliemistocles 
wished to burn the ships of the other Grecian 
States, and M^as prevented by the report of Aris- 
tides to the Athenians, that though nothing could 
be more advantageous to Athens, nothing could 
be more unjust. England pursued a different 
course at Copenhagen; and by so doing, struck 
one of the heaviest blows ever dealt at the power 
of Napoleon. I make no comment upon the dif- 
ferent degrees of morality exhibited by the ancient 
and the modern, the heathen and the cliristlgn. I 
merely state historical facts, and from them I draw 
the deduction, that a right without the means of 
making it respected is a mockery. It is admitted 
that Hungary has no such means. The question, 
then, arises," vShall we furnish them .' This is the 
point, the whole gist of the matter. Let me begin 



by supposing that it is in our power to do so — that 
we have the ability to punish Russian interfer- 
ence and repel Russian invasi(in — how are we to be 
benefited ? What portion of the fruits of victory 
is to inure to us? I do not address this question 
to dinner orators, brimfuU of philanthropy and 
champagne, nor to vainglorious militia colonels, 
who are exceedingly anxious to march to Hun- 
gary to-morrow, but who could not make it con- 
venient to march to Mexico when our country 
ivas engaged in war. I address it to grave Sena- 
tors, who are charged with the interests of twenty- 
five millions of people, and who are responsible to 
the present and the future for the manner in which 
they discharge the duties assigned them. 

General Washington has said: 

" Tliere can be no greater error than to expect or calcn- 
late upon any real favors from nation to nation. It ia an 
illusion which experience must cure, and which a jusl 
pride ought to discard." 

There is a deep wisdom in this paragraph, and 
he who disregards or treats it lightly wants the 
highest attribute of a statesman. We can expect 
nothing as a favor from other nations, and none 
have a right to expect favors from us. Our inter- 
ference, if we interfere at all, must be dictated by 
interest; and therefore I ask, in what possible 
manner can we be benefited? Russia has done ua 
no injury; we have, therefore, no wrongs lua\enge. 
Rus.sia has no territory of whi^h wewish to deprive 
her, and from her there^ no danger against 
which it is necessary lojrguard. Enlightened 
self-interest does not oiler a single argument in 
favor of embroiling oiusillves in a quarrel with 
her. So obvious, so indisputable is this truth, 
that the advocates of " intervention " have base'dL 
their speeches almost s^'ely on the ground thcitwy 
have a divine mission to ]:erform, and that is to 
strike the manacles from lie handsof allmankipd. 
It may be, Mr. President, tTtSU we have ai0i a 
mission: but, if so, the " time of its fulfillment ia 
not yet." And, for one, I jnef^r waiting fursome 
clearer manifestation of the Divine Will. By at- 
tempting to fulfill it now, we employ &e surest 
means of disappointing that " jnanifest^lestiny," 
of which we have heard so much- . IW^ have be- 
fore us the certainty of indicting OTe]Tinjury upon 
ourselves, without the slightest prosjiect of bene- 
fiting others. According to Kossuth 's own ad- 
mission, R-ussia can precipitate upon Hungary 
one hundred thousand men in thirty days; Au.s- 
tria, at the lowest calculation, can bring as many 
more into the field. If we give them notice, in 
advance, that we intend to interfere in the affairs 
! of Hungary, not only these troops, but all the dis- 
j posable forces of both empires will be collected at 
the most convenient points, and an attempted revo- 
lution would be crushed before we heard it had 
j begun. I need not depict the unenviable attitude 
in which we would then be placed. Involved in a 
war without an object, our ally vanquished, the 
I very chains we sought to loosen riveted with ten- 
fold strength, the miserable victims of their own 
and our folly piling curses upon us, witli the sneer- 
ing taunts of the victors adding the last mortifica- 
tion to the Quixotism of America. Sir, if I had 
but one prayer to offer for my country, it would 
be, " May God avert this deep disgrace!" Mis- 
fortunes may come upon us all; dishonorattaches 
only to the unworthy. A nation* may be con- 
quered, trodden down; her living sons in chains, 
her dead the prey of vultures, and still leave a 



6 



bright example — a glorious history to after times. 
But when folly and wickedness have ruled the 
hour; when disaster is the legitimate child of er- 
ror and weakness, the page tiiat records it is but 
a record of infamy, and pity for misfortune be- 
comes a crime against justice. 

Sir, I do not love that word "destiny" — "man- 
ifest" or not " manifest." Men and nations make 
their own destinies. 

" Our acts, our angols are, or good or ill — 
Our fatal shadows that walk hy us still." 
The future of this Republic is in our hands, and 
it is for us to determine whether we will launch 
the ship of State upon a wild and stormy sea, 
above whose blackened waters no sunshine beams, 
no star shines out, where not a ray is seen but 
what is caught from the lurid lightning as it treads 
its fiery path. This, Senators, is the niighty ques- 
tion we have to solve, and let me add, that if the 
freedom of one continent and the hopes of four 
shall sink beneath that inky flood, ours will be the 
guilt, ours the deep damnation it deserves. 

Shall I be told these are idle fears.' That in a 
war with Russia, no matter for what cause waged, 
we must be the victors? That, in short, all Eu- 
rope combined could not blot this Union from the 
map of nations.' Ah, sir, that is not all I fear. I 
fear success eveii more than defeat. The Senator 
ihiganf [Mr. C \ss] was right when hesaid 
fears were to lie found at hoine. 1 do 
fselves. Commit om- people once to un- 
sary foreign wars,Jei victory encourage the 
ry spirit already Wp prevalent among them, 
Roman history wijhave no chapter bloody 

aigli to be transmilteHto posterity side by side 

with ours. In a brief^eriml we shall have re- 
enacted, on a grander |!<^''', the same scenes which 
marked her decline. -. 
followed a victorious 1 
will f Tjet his love oT 
comni;ii.('er, and tli-' 
abroad ." conquer akn 
to desti- lythe rights ■ 
throne "i'an em|)ero;-. 




e \ eteran soldier who has 
:ler from clime to clime, 
itntry in his love for his 
ayonets you have sent 
:lom will be brought back 
the citizen and prop the 



I have t^|us, sir. 
Tects of inbrv.'iii 



effec 

its tire.-^eiit ai 



y traced the prospective 
Let me refer as briefly to 
' eflccts. We must begin 
with an outlay, at the lowest calculation, of one 
hundred niiililins of dollars; and this, be itremem- 
bered, is but a beginning. Our navy must be quad- 
rupled, our army increased not less than an hun- 
dred thousand men. Every fort upon our long 
line of sea-coast, from Maine to the Rio Grande, 
and from Northern Oregon to Southern California, 
must be garrisoned, and the immense sums thus 
expended must be dragged directly from the pock- 
ets of the people. Allof us know, that in a war 
with a maritime power, our revenues from imjiorts 
must decrease below the wants of the Government. 
But irrievous as would be this load of debt, it is 
the lightest of the evils we will be called upon to 
bear. From direct invasion, I admit that we 
have notliin^' to fear; from battles upon the ocean, 
between national vessels, just as little. The dan-, 
ger is of aimther kind. There is not a sea which 
an American vessel is not tliis moment travers- 
ing. There is not a clime unknown to our com- 
merce. 

Whenever war is declared, the lust of gain and 
the love of adventure will cover the ocean with 
privateers, and the rich fruits gathered by the arts 



of peace will be sacrificed to the demon of folly. 
The spindles of the New England manuficturer 
will stand still; the door of the New York mer- 
chant will be closed; the ploughshare of the North- 
western mrmer will rust in the furrow; and the 
noise of the cotton-gin will no longer be heard. 
Not a pound of bacon nor a barrel of flour, not a 
sack of corn, nor a bag of cotton, not a hogshead 
of tobacco, nor a tierce of rice, can leave our porta 
without danger of caf.ture. The hardy mariner, 
who pursues his i)erilous calling m the northern 
seas, may find himself a captive, and the fruits of 
long years of toil swept away before he is aware 
that he has an enemy to avoid. The life-blood 
will stagnate in every vein of our commerce; and 
every interest will wither under its blighting influ- 
ence. Is this picture too highly colored ? Grant 
that it is so. Grant that but one tenth part of 
what is here depicted will come to pass, and the 
eye of the patriot will still turn with a shudder from 
tlie dark prospect on which it rests. But is it in 
truth overdrawn .' There are Senators here who 
remember the war of 1812, its trials and its suf- 
ferings; and all of us have learned from history 
or tnidition that these suflerings were suflicient 
to cast a veil even over the deformities of treason, 
and to cause the formation of a party whose ob- 
ject was to make a separate peace with the com- 
mon enemy, and leave the rest of the Republic to 
take care of itself. Can it be doubted that with a 
greatly extended commerce these evils will be pro- 
portionately increased, and moreover that they 
would be aggravated by the reflection that they 
were brought upon us against reason and without 
necessity .' It may be .said, sir, that an argumenS 
of this sort extends to all wars as well as to the par- 
ticular case under consideration. Undoubtedly to 
some extent it does so. No war car. be carried on 
vv-ithout detriment to the prosperity or the moral- 
ity of the people; but there may be cases which 
justify, there may be wrongs which demand, the 
sacrifice; and whenever such a case arises, I shall 
not be the last to draw the sword. 

I am afraid, Mr. Pi-esident, that after the able 
and judicious remarks of the Senator from R.hode 
Island, [Mr. Clarke,] I shall but tax the pa- 
tience of the Senate by referring to the opinions 
of former Presidents; but if it should be somewhat 
tedious to this body, it will not be uninstructive to 
the country. There has been no disagreement of 
opinion among them, no matter to what section of 
the Union tliey belonged, no matter to what party 
they owed their elevation to power; all of them 
have urged non-interference with the affairs of 
other nations as the dictate alike of interest and 
of duty. All of them, with singular unanimity, 
I have maintained and enforced the precepts of the 
father of his Country. I am aware that it is be- 
coming somewhat unfashionable to argue from the 
usages and experience of the past. It has been 
again and again announced that rules which were 
well enough for the govermnent of an infant Re- 
public, are valueless now; that a change of cir- 
cumstances necessarily induces a change of policy, 
and that what was wi.^dom yesterday may be folly 
to-morrow. Much of this may be true. I do not 
mean that we should blindly follow any policy 
without reference to circumstances. I do imt mean 
to say that, because the Spartans lived on black 
broth, and used nothing but iron money, therefore 
we ought to follow their example; but what I do 



mean to say is, that there are certain great truths 
wliich no time can change, no circumstances affect, 
and chief among these I reckon the duty of every 
nation to provide for the substantial happiness of 
its ou-n citizens. No matter whether in infancy, 
maturity, or decline, this is a policy no nation can 
neglect with safety — no people can disregard with- 
out suffering. 

It was on this principle that Wasliington acted. 
T propose to read, sir, a few short paragraphs from 
his Farewell Address: 

"The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign 
nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have 
with tliem as little political connection as possible. So lar 
as we have already formed engagements, let them be ful 
filled with perfect good faith. Here let us slop. 

"Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have 
rone, or a very remote relation. Hence she nnist be en- 
gaged in frequent controversies, the causes of v.hich are 
essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it 
must be unwise in tis to implicate ourselves, by artiticial 
ties, in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordi- 
nary combinations and collisions of her friendships or en- 
mities. 

" Our detached and distant situation invites and enables 
tis to pursue a ditierent course. If we remain one people, 
under an etficient Governnii;nt, the period is not farofl when 
we may defy material injury from external annoyance; 
when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neu- 
trality we may at any time resolve upon, to be scrupulously 
respected ; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility 
of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the 
giving us provocation ; wlien we may choose peace or war, 
as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel. 

" Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation .' 
Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground.' Why, 
by interweaving our destiny with tliatof any part of Europe, 
entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European 
ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice .'" 

Now, Mr. President, the authority of the hon- 
orable Senator from Michigan to the contrary 
notwithstanding, I must say that it is not in a doc- 
ument thus carefully prepared, solemnly announ- 1 
cing opinions so maturely formed, that we are to | 
look for advice intended to guide us tor a season i 
only. Every word of that Address was intended ' 
to have its weight so long as the Republic should [ 
endure. Guided by a wisdom but little short of 
inspiration, lie foresaw the possibility of a case 
such as tliat which has now arisen, and affec- 
tionately warned us to beware of dangers which , 
might prove fatal to the Republic. I tiust, sir, 
that there is yet among the people too much re- 
spect for the memory of George Washington, too 
much gratitude for his services, to permit his j 
counsels to be disregarded. I trust we are not yet 
prepared to exchange the calm and patriotic ad- 
vice of the sagacious statesman for the noisy bab- [ 
blings of political aspirants, still less for tlie in- 
terested suggestions of a foreigner, seeking the 
attainment of his own selfish ends, no matter at I 
what cost, no matter at what sacrifice of the inter- , 
est of others. i 

The most popular and the most powerful of the 
successors of General Wasliington held similar 
opinions. I read from the fourth annual message 
of Andrew Jackson: 

" In the view I have given of our connection with for- 
eign Powers, allusions have been made to their domestic 
disturbances or Ibreign wars, to their revolutions or dissen- 
sions. It may be proper to observe, that this is done solely 
in cases where those events atfeet our political relations 
With them, or to show their operation on our commerce. 
Further than this, it is neither our policy ^or our right to 
interfere. Our best wishes on all occasions, our good offices 
when required, will be afforded, to promote tiie domestic 
tranquillity and foreign peace of all nations with whom we 
ave any intorcojj^e . Any intervention in |peir atiairs 



further than this, even hy the expression of an official opin- 
ion, is contrary to our principles of international policy, and 
will always be avoided." 

I might go on until I had filled a volume with 
similar extracts; but it is not needed. The obvious 
good sense of attending to our own business, re- 
quires no authority to sustain it. We are nov\r 
rich, happy, and powerful. If we continue in 
the course we have thus far pursued, imagination 
can set no bounds to our progress. I profess, sir, 
to have as much sympathy for the oppressed as 
other men. As an individual, I think it quite 
possible that I would peril life and limb in such a 
cause, as readily as the noisiest advocates of inter- 
vention; but in this Chamber I endeavor to sepa- 
rate the man from the legislator, looking only to the 
good of the countr)', seeking to perpetuate its in- 
stitutions, and preserve unimpaired the high priv- 
ileges we enjoy; I can permit neither sympa- 
thies nor enmities to govern my conduct, nor sway 
me from the pathway pointed out by reason and 
reflection. Feeling, pride, passion, prejudice, are 
all out of place here. The interests of this great 
nation, and its continued existence as a free Repub- 
lic, must not be subjected to capricious legislation, 
dictated by sympathies which may be misplaced 
— which are always unreflecting. The heart is a 
bad counsellor at best. An individual may be 
pardoned for yielding to its promptings when the 
risk is all his own; but no coi^'e of morals, no pre- 
cept of religion can excuse or extenuate the guilt 
of him who idly perils a nation's welfare, a peo- 
ple's happiness. 

It was an inflexible rule of the Roman Senate, 
never to make peace with a victorious enemy, lest 
amid the sufferings and humiliations of defeat 
they might be tempted to sacrifice the interests of 
the Republic. No wonder that a people governed 
by such rules became the masters of the world. 
Over them the passions had no sway — reasarrruled 
supreme. Cold as the marble columns about 
them, no wild fancies led theOT into profitless ad- 
ventures, no vain dreams of universal philaii thro ]iy 
tauffht them to forget the highjEr duties they owed 
to Rome. * 

The present project of interventipn 'does not 
come recommended to me by the company in 
whicli it proposes to place us. We are asked to 
act in conjiuiction with England, who may well 
find it for her own interest and her own safety, but 
who will offer us nothing in exchange for our 
share in the common danger and the common 
expense. The policy of England is known to the 
world, and all history is false if she ever formed 
an alliance without a selfish end in view. What- 
ever nation subserves her purposes, is her ally for 
the time lieing, but not a moment longer. A 
league with England, out of which any good could 
arise to America, is an Utopian dream, of which 
a school-boy should be ashamed. 

In her case, also, even feeling prompts us to re- 
ject the profl'ered fellowship. There are many 
wounds inflicted in the past whose " poor dumb 
mouths" plead eloquently against such an alliance. 
The fierce Tarlton and the merciless Rav.'don are 
not yet forgotten. The ho«^ burnings of Cock- 
burn and the sav.ige inaslBp-es of Proctor still 
blacken the page of history. I'ime has not abated 
the deep indignation excited by thebriri'al war-cry 
which rang over the plains of New Orleans; and 
none of us remember, without a feeling of resent- 






A « 



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8 



ment, the Vandal inroad to which this capital was 
aubjected. That large class of our population 
who are of Irish birth or Irish extraction have 
darker memories to cherish and deeper wrongs to 
avenge. Many of them have had their infant 
slumbers broken by the rattle of musketry and the 
fierce yell of an infuriated soldiery, and none,of 
them have forgotten that there was a time when 
the frightened peasant who fled to the mountain 
or the morass for safety, was lighted on his way 
by the flames bursting from the roof of his cot- 
tage; when the dungeon was filled with the noblest 
in the land, and the scaffold groaned with the 
weight of its victims; when terror wallced side by 
side with the jjaid informer, and desolation made 
its home in Ireland. 

These are the souvenirs connected witli the name 
of England; and I will not so libel a gallant people 
as to suppose for a moment that they have any 
great anxiety to clasp in friendship hands red with 
the best blood of their native land. Let me not j 
be misunderstood. I seek no quarrel with England, ! 
but I do not forget what she has done, and 1 want j 
no alliance v/itli her. So long as she attends to \ 
her own business, and does not presume to meddle | 
with ours, I am willing that our present relations [ 
should continue. But let her beware how she 1 
ttrouses the animosities now slumbering in the | 
American bosom. The bones and sinews of the I 
young giant of the West are fast hardening into 
niatt|*jinanhood, and, the next time we meet in 
hostin|Hfefl|MBd\e prO(^d boast that the roll of the 
Englis^^^^^^v be heard from the rising to the 
settino^^^^^^Hp nothin.;- but a tale of the past. 
Thenj^^^^^^He Irisii heart leap with a pioud 
|oy, fii^^^^^Biviil ^W^ come when the epitaph 
of Emm^^Pl^at last be written. 

Mr. Presi<jt^it, we have all read recently, and 
pnne of us |^u3t without deep feeling, the opin- 
ions oP the Ttnerftble statesman whose bodily in- 



W 



firmity now keeps him from among us. Who 
is there with a higher wisdom than his? Who is 
there with a wider experience? Who is there 
with so few motives to deceive himself or others 
as to the true interests of his country ! His voice 
comes to us clothed with all the .sanctity ths 
grave can give, witli the added knowledge of ex- 
isting things, which the grave must take away. 
Stantling upon the verge of two v.'orlds, and look- 
ing back upon that which he is about to leave, his 
heart swelling with a patriotism little less than 
holy, his vision clear and unclouded by the pas- 
sions and prejudices which dim our sight, he tells 
us that ours is a mission of peace, not a mission 
of blood; that to avoid all interference in the af- 
fairs of other nations, to preserve our own independ- 
ence, to live for America, to labor for America, 
and if need be to die for America, is a sacred duty, 
the performance of which will best serve the causd 
of human liberty in every land beneath the sun. 
Sir, I shall follow his advice. If my own judg- 
ment differed from liis, I should distrust it, and 
feel inclined rather to i)e governed by the sugges- 
tions of him whom all men of every party havs 
agreed to name patriot, statesman, sage. 
"Mr. President, I have nearly done. It is my 
habit to compress what I have to say into as small 
a space as possible, and I have not departed from 
it on the present occasion. If I have ever studied 
words at all, it has only been to ascertain how few 
could be made to answer my purpose. There is 
one great rule of conduct, applicable alike to indi- 
viduals and to nations, a stern and rigid adherence 
to which leads inevitably to power, prosperity, and 
hap]iiness. That rule has been so well imbodied 
by England's greatest poet, that I give it in hifl 
own words : 

" And this above all, to thine ownself be true, 
And it will follow, as the nilrlit the day, 
Thou canst not then be taisc to any iiiaji. " 



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